Chapter 41 · The 48-Hour Gamble

"Don't touch the door." Jax caught my wrist before my fingers reached the lock.

His grip was hot. Too hot against the cold metal under my palm. I twisted hard, but he stepped in behind me and pinned my hand flat, his chest brushing my shoulder blade.

"Let go."

"You try that door, the neural lock spikes."

"Then move."

"Kaelen. Look at me."

I drove my elbow back. He shifted just enough to take the hit on his ribs, then trapped my arm against my side. His breath touched the shell of my ear.

"You want to break my arm?" he asked.

"I want you off me."

"Great. We agree on the goal. Not the method."

I slammed my heel down. He swore and released me for half a second. I spun, shoved both hands into his chest, and sent him into the steel cabinet behind him.

The cabinet screamed against the floor.

Jax grabbed the edge before it tipped. "That was rude."

"You locked me in a room with a countdown in my skull. Don't lecture me on manners."

"The countdown is why you're locked in here."

"You said the timer reset."

"It reset to forty-eight hours.